The Affinities of Civilization: Beyond Earth: Purity

How will the choices that you make as a leader affect the future of humankind in Sid Meiers Civilization: Beyond Earth? The Affinity System in Beyond Earth allows players to see how the strategies that they embrace serve to shape their civilization. There are three Affinities, Purity, Harmony, and Supremacy, and each come with their own set of advantages and unique traits. Art Lead Mike Bates and Co-Lead Designers Will Miller and David McDonough explain more about the Purity Affinity in this Q&A.

What are the defining aspects of this Affinity?

Purity is focused on preserving, glorifying, and creating the ideal version of humanity as we know it now. If Harmony and Supremacy represent the changes humankind will face in the future, Purity is a total rejection of that adaptation. The look of the cities and units call back to the past, and feature lots of banners and sigils you would commonly see on the great civilizations of old. Purity units have no adaptations to the alien atmosphere and instead rely on big bulky sophisticated exosuits and vehicles.

What geological, technological, or other benefits does this Affinity have over others?

Purity is about raw strength, but dont confuse that with simplicity. While military units are equipped with heavy battlesuits, many of their vehicles are equipped with hover technology. Floating tanks look more like floating fortresses. They move slowly, but they dont suffer from the same environmental move penalties of a typical ground unit. Your enemy will not see a more terrifying sight than an army of floating tanks crossing the ocean.

When designing the look for this Affinity, what served as inspiration?

Mike Bates - We looked at a lot of images from our modern military when designing the units for Purity. We were able to use this pretty effectively for Purity because the tan and dirt-like colors emphasize the Affinitys attachment to Earth. We mixed this up with the pageantry and regalia of medieval knights and other classic types of warriors. The units ended up being a great combination of the past and present of humanity, which falls right into place with Puritys beliefs.

What would a person aligned with this Affinity say to someone aligned with the others?

Get off my lawn.

Check back in the coming weeks for more developer Q&As which will provide insight into the Harmony and Supremacy Affinities. In the meantime you can check out our post about the Affinity System and talk with other Civ fans on the 2K Forums.

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